To discuss the background of my invention, I refer to FIG. 1, which shows one end of the hull of a conventional military vehicle 10, which can be, for example, an M1A1 Abrams main battle tank. Fixed atop hull 10 is lifting eye 12 and fixed to a lower portion of the hull is a towing lug 14. It is desired to temporarily but securely fasten a mounting bracket 16 between eye 12 and lug 14 by bolts or other conventional fasteners. A piece of equipment can be attached to bracket 16, whereby the piece of equipment is easily installed on hull 10 and easily removed after use. Bracket 16, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, is not necessarily conventional, but it is not of my design.
As perhaps best understood with reference to FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, the distances between eye 12 and lug 14 in the x, y, and z directions of a Cartesian coordinate system vary greatly from one vehicle to the next, even if the vehicle involved are the same type. Consequently, it almost always happens that either upper bracket hole 18 is misaligned with eye 12 or lower bracket hole 20 is misaligned with hole 22 of lug 14.